Our John
 

Howdy Ledgies? It occurred to me today the coolness about John. The original Mr.Penguin, The Secret Weapon... Imagine if Rumours wound up being titled Yesterday's Gone? Our beloved Mr. McVie came up with Rumours as the title:) What are YOUR favorite John contributions? Mine are obviously "The Chain" & what he brought to "Illume" (Illumay):) and "Smile At You" What do YOU think? I especially like the breath of fresh air that he brought to "Smile At You" (although I DO ultimately prefer the "non-angry" demo as a whole.... My REAL question is do you think it was him or Lindsey that are responsible for the "Illume" and "Smile At You" parts"???

'Tis both of them.

John is fabulous. Crank up the intro to SOTM and just feel that throbbing bassline. Oh wow-gets me every time..

Lindsey and John accent each other-listen to the Chain-that John solo and then Lindsey comes in-gives me gooseflesh...

I have to say that John's bass on Over My Head is nothing short of erotic. It's what makes the song so sexy, that pulsating throbbing melody under Chris' silky smooth voice. Goodness, somebody fan me. :laugh:

-Lis

I'm So Afraid FM Live

Unbelieveable John moments

Listen to the begining of Straight Back. He throws it down on that. :nod:

Fleetwood & McVie - the greatest rhythm section in the history of rock and roll bar none! I will listen to (and then dismiss) the claim of Wyman and Watts.

John is a monster bass player and one really funny bloke.

Gail

:nod: I agree - I think John and Mick make one helluva kick ass rythm section...

I adore John - but most the great John moments - have already been mentioned....I always think he's greatness :D

Um...McCartney/Starr? Sumner/Copeland? Bruce/Baker? Kunkel/Sklar?
Gadd/East?

Stiff competition.

:shrug:

My faves fom John:

the "RUMOURS" title
bass at Gold dust woman
at the Chain
at Go your own way
penguin iconography
when he told about the "crying" thing at Songbird, in the Rumours VH-1 special

John is one monster on the bass. I literally shout to my CD player "Hit it John, hit it!!" I think my favorite John moment (aside from the Chain, of course) is Thrown Down.

Bruce and Baker - again I will listen to and then dismiss.

McCartney/Starr - another member of the Beatles said that Ringo wasn't the best drummer in the world in fact he's not even the best drummer in The Beatles!

Sumner/Copeland - hmm not even close

Gail

riiiight - when I said I agree earlier haha...I don't actually agree they are THE BEST ever....but I enjoy them and think they do kick ass.....

with that said...

The Beatles will always be my first love in music - but yeah I don't find Ringo to be that stellar of a drummer...still they're great and they would not be the same without Ringo....

John is the best bass player around, I think that he's a great addition to FM; he is an original. And I know that I don't know alll the songs that he contributed to but I know that The Chain really is my fave, that solo is the best! :thumbsup:

While we're on the subject...I have to admit that I really don't know how much John contributes to FM's material. I know that he has a writing credit for The Chain, but generally speaking, how much does he put into the songs? I can't imagine nearly as much as LB or SN, but he IS part of the band, so I'm sure he does contribute. Someone wiser than me...please grace me with your McVie knowledge.

I think they are the backbone of the band. I once heard them described as "the kind of rhythm section that could anchor a dinghy in a storm".

As for what John contributes - I dont think he suggests lyrics or anything like that but he (along with Mick) lays down the foundation for the song.

I like to think of it as a pyramid with from the bottom up (instrumentally) Mick, John, Christine (yes I KNOW she's left but I'm still in denial about it) and then Lindsey.

You can't take away the base (or bass) without the whole thing falling over.

Gail

Yeah, I think a lot of what the end 'feeling' sounds like comes from John and Mick. For some reason I'm thinking about Isn't It Midnight as an example, or even Love Shines... where the bass sort of gives that extra 'ummph', it adds a melodic lilting undertone, it drives the song along. I mean Love Shines could have been IMO a much more 'ordinary' song if it had an ordinary bassline on it. John gives it a fun and happy bounce, it raises it up to that next level of being every-so-catchy!

I do love him to pieces. Can you tell?

-Lis

Bass is my scene, and i love john. One new one that i didn't like so much until i heard the thumpin, throbbin, baseline come in....

RUNNING THROUGH THE GARDEN

Actually, I could go on and on, but others have said it well, plus i'm tired..
AMber

:nod: yep - they do lay down the foundation - they together just sound great -

I remember Lindsey saying once that Mick plays slightly behind the beat (which he complimented with admiting that he plays slightly ahead of the beat) - this confused me. Being the drummer Mick IS the beat - no? In my musical experience the rythm section is what you follow - they lay down the beat - the tempo - the basic foundation of a song....

No rhythm section plays completely one-to-one or totally together. It would make the thing sound like it was played by machines. The classic rhythm sections consist of people that can make the groove live and breathe. Screw 'em click tracks, although FM's been using them for a long time now. :p

Even the drum machines, or certain computer-generated rhythms these days can have slight pre-programmed off-beats in their patterns, to make them sound more like humans. This is what Can's Irmin Schmidt once said of drum machines: "Every drum machine has a humanizing function. Except for Jaki [Liebezeit, drummer of Can]. He never had a humanizing function."

Oh, and my favourite bass part of John's at this very moment? The verses of "Beautiful Child". So fluent and fragile. VERY necessary to the arrangement.

I'm not saying Mick or any drummer should play perfect - what I'm saying is the ARE the beat....and therefore....well...ya know...they are the beat perfect or not...and I am fully aware that no drummer is perfect....regardless- the rythm section provides the beat!

The quote was something as follows: Mick plays slightly behind the beat, John plays slightly in front and they meet somewhere in the middle.

Of course, with Mick and John not being academically trained musicians, they are prone to that usual rock and roll talk that you can hear from many musicians. They're not about analysing, they're about the sperrit. They can't describe accurately what they do but that's rock and roll for you, baby. ;)

Ok - I didn't have the exact quote - and that's not as I remember it - the one I mentioned above didn't mention John at all - just Mick - so whatever....

Again- I just think they are greatness....and I do understand the nuances of rock and roll being that I've been in several local bands myself...they jive quite nicely (Mick and John) - I was simply stating that the rythm section is the foundation and carries the beat for any given song....

Sorry about that. What you quoted was what Lindsey said. What I tried to quote was what Mick said of himself and John once.

I love John, but I can't say with a straight face that Mick is a fabulous drummer and one of the best. He's gotten quite crappy over the years. He needs to get some tutoring from Clem Burke on drumming.

?? Are you kidding me? His drumming isn't crappy...granted he's not the world's greatest but he is far from "crappy" he's actually quite good.

The Dance was a while ago - but his drumming was excellent on that...he can keep a beat and he's creative and fun with his styles and fills - all in all he's a good drummer.

Sorry, I think he's simply adequate at this point. :o

And don't forget that moment during The Dance tour when they finally got him to SING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He should step out of his shadow space on stage a little more often but hey that's bass players for ya.


Dimphy

Complete egomaniacs, the two of them. Not without reason, though.

He's amazing! :nod:

Yeah, they hated each other's guts but I guess that contributed to the tension.

John's greatest contribution: his cardboard cutout on the Tusk video. :lol:

Totally Glitterfades! Wasn't he out sailing during the "Tusk" shoot?

>>Totally Glitterfades! Wasn't he out sailing during the "Tusk" shoot?>>

He was in Tahiti. And, as he says, he "wasn't about to come back for it!" :)

-Lis

One of my favorite John contributions... his awesome bassline to "Never Going Back Again" on the 'Live In Boston' DVD. :D

Bonham/Jones?
Moon/Entwhistle?

BTW, even Mick and John say these two were the best. The magic of Fleetwood/McVie is that unlike the other rhythm sections, they had to work with a wide range of writers/musicians, not just one or two (other) writers.

Good point, but comparing Fleetwood/McVie with Bonham/Jones or Moon/Entwistle is comparing apples with pomegranates: they both essentially the same color & shape, but inside they're vastly different. Whereas the latter rhythm sections were about showmanship, polyrhythmic complexity & metal intensity, Fleetwood/McVie typically toned down their attack in order to let the song itself take center stage. Fleetwood/McVie wouldn't be all that stunning on "Baba O'Riley," but Moon/Entwistle wouldn't know what the hell to do with "Dreams."

There are SO many things to love about The Amazing Mr McVie, that I get overwhelmed and can't name just one thing.

That's all I can say.

:)

I couldn't hear him singing on The Dance. On the DVD you can see his lips move (just) but I can't hear him.

Gail

Our John is coming to visit!
Profuse thanks to Marty & Lis!!!